Monday, October 01, 2007

Condos Above Petworth Metro Development Watch

For the expats who are curious about the condos being built above the metro, this is for you. You can see some serious steel(?) beams have been set otherwise despite a ton of work it still looks like a gigantic hole in the ground. But I believe they aren't supposed to finish until 2009...

9 comments:

Man, they've been working on this like what -- a year?! Maybe I'm being unduly harsh, but it seems like in that time, other developments have been completed, and here, they're still moving dirt around.

Wonder if this is more demanding in terms of ensuring stability etc. vis-a-vis the metro? I mean I saw these huge diameter tubes being driven to the ground or something, which I have not seen on other sites around CH metro for example. But what is also true that it takes forever to prep the ground, and then once they start building upwards, it goes really fast, and then slows down again at the end with all the finishing touches

I will be surprised if they follow through on this project. The fact that they have been at this for over a year with no results means that they are not doing anything. Homeless shelter plus falling real estate market equals GA AVE/Petworth remain the dumps. Maybe with Fenty as Mayor something will eventually happen at this construction site, but I will not be holding my breath.

And how about the senior wellness center south on Georgia a bit? Anyone know why nearly one year after the ground breaking ceremony there is not ground broken and no senior wellness center being built? Now that is a good question.

Anon. I'm afraid I completely disagree with your assessment. First of all, they have completed a lot of work. Just because it looks like a whole in the ground doesn't mean that didn't take a lot of work to get to that point. Laying foundation, reinforcing walls, etc. Secondly, the developer is completely behind this project. And finally, Petworth/GA is not now and will not be the "dumps". That is just insulting.

As many commenters have noted, the homeless shelter is not a done deal and even if does become one it is far enough south not to affect the condos above the metro.

when the construction started in July 2006 they said it would be 2 years. It's been a little over one so far, but I'm not too worried. The hole in the ground phase always takes forever (anyone remember the convention center??). but now the crane is there...i think we will see major progress over the next few months.

Think positive anonymous #2. At least five projects are in some phase of construction within a 2-3 block radius of Park Place. Georgia Ave/Petworth is on a slow rise. Rome was not built in a day...and this is the first major construction that has happened here in about four decades.

Large scale projects take a whole lot of time. One year isn't nearly enough to see "progress" considering metro runs underneath. It won't be as straightforward as the other construction sites we usually see. SM is very right about the convention center.

As for the senior wellness centre, the "groundbreaking" ceremony was in June of this year, not 2006. And the shelter's zoning hearing is on Feb. 19th. It really isn't a done deal.

The location of this site has everything to do with the time involved -- that it is being built over an existing subway station. It has always been known this project will take more time than it would if located on a simple, vacant lot somewhere else.